Stressed: An Overwhelming Need For Sacramento Mental Health Services

Sacramento's mental health system is struggling to meet community needs. Ride along with an officer whose top priority is to help people in mental health crisis. A court program aims to give people skills and treatment to keep them out of jail.

Capital Public Radio report Bob Moffitt joins us to talk about his five-part mental health series exploring issues from helping people in a mental health crisis and what challenges those providing services and treatment face.

Sometimes, help for people with mental illness can only be found behind the locked doors of a psychiatric facility, county jail, or state mental hospital. Yet, there is no guarantee that a person requiring services can get them when they need them.

For people struggling with their mental health, there are an increasing number of opportunities to get help. The groups working to expand resources in the Sacramento area say the system is hamstrung by the lack of adequate treatment facilities.

For decades, law enforcement officers had to figure out how to help mentally ill people during a crisis on their own. Now, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department provides training that is making a difference for both officers and those in need.

Cops don't just enforce the law. They must also find ways to peacefully resolve mental health emergencies. Ride along with a Sacramento police officer who is part of a team that's trained to respond to the need for mental health services.